


Passion

by Oliver__Niko



Series: ToZ Anniversary 2019 [2]
Category: Tales of Zestiria
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Light-Hearted, Michael being quite as much of a nerd as Mikleo, Ruins, he's also scared of dogs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-10-13 09:56:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17485985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oliver__Niko/pseuds/Oliver__Niko
Summary: Before Michael's role as the Shepherd became too much to bear, he and Lailah would often go ruin exploring together, strengthening their already close bond.





	Passion

**Author's Note:**

> Here's the oneshot for day 3 of the ToZ Anniversary event, "History is the architecture of our hearts"! No art today, although I enjoyed writing this little thing. Hopefully you enjoy it yourself!

A gloved hand trails carefully across a wall. Though it is made of the toughest stone, the gesture is still gentle, almost as though the person it belongs to is scared of damaging it. A quiet hum is released. His hand is now on is chin, his eyes deep in thought.

“Is there something here, Michael?” a voice asks, belonging to a woman with long, flowing hair, tinted with a faint pink. The Shepherd nods.

“Or at least, I believe so. It appears that this wall may actually be a door. The method of opening it, however … Hmm, there must be something here.”

“I’m afraid I’m not the best at these puzzles.”

Michael smiles from amusement. “No matter, Lailah. You know how much I enjoy these.”

Enjoy it he does. At seventeen-years-old, Michael has already been the Shepherd for several years, having started out at what had perhaps been far too young. He has faced the burdens that the Shepherd carries, lived with the stress that it can cause. Yet his heart is still young and pure. His passion remains, meaning that at times, he and Lailah take time to go exploring together.

That had been one of the things he had been excited for when he first became a Shepherd; having the opportunity to see the world. And he is still the same even now.

“Hang on,” he says, his eyes averting up to a torch on the wall. “I swear that the other torches didn’t have that on it.”

Being rather small in height, Michael has to rise on his toes in order to reach for the torch. His hand presses against a large red gemstone on the metal’s surface. He feels it sink a little from his touch, and as he steadies himself back on his feet, the wall rumbles. He grins triumphantly as a section of the wall swings open like a door.

“Oh!” Lailah gasps. “Well spotted as always, Michael.”

He faces her, grin growing. “Of course. You know how much of a ruin geek I am.”

She chuckles lightly. “Very much so.”

The two proceed into the opening. The torches lighting the ruins end here, causing Lailah to conjure an ember to light the way. Michael’s violet eyes stare all around despite the corridor being rather plain, seeing if there are any secrets within this orange light.

Yet for now, it is simply the same stretch of stone and bricks. Michael slows his pace slightly in order to not miss anything. Eventually however, they come to a junction, with a path either side of them. Lailah glances between them.

“Which way shall we go?”

“They say you should go left when you’re lost. So we shall go right.”

This method makes little sense to Lailah, yet Michael seems confident, so she says, “Right it is!”

Lailah’s fire still guiding their way, the two proceed. Their chests begin to grow heavier with each step they take. Michael shudders, knowing this feeling all too well even though it is faint.

“Malevolence,” he says. Lailah nods.

“I expected us to encounter it sooner or later, the more we ventured down the ruins’ depths. We must be very careful.”

Michael doesn’t answer verbally, yet Lailah receives one regardless from how he takes his sword out from its holster. Similarly, Lailah conjures her paper. Her fire brightens in order to expand their field of vision.

Everything is silent except for their footsteps. They can still sense the malevolence however, straining their ears for any possible hellions.

That is when they hear footsteps other than their own. A blur dashes past Lailah and leaps against Michael before either can react. The latter is knocked to the floor, his sword pushing back whatever is on top of him- he shrieks when he meets the red eyes of some kind of wolf hellion.

“Michael!” Lailah cries. “ _Burning Strike!”_

The fire launches at the hellion, knocking it off Michael’s body. He shudders, legs a little shaken as he gets to his feet. An inferno has enveloped the beast, Michael able to finish the purification with a slash of his sword.

“That scared the life out of me,” he says, a hand held over his chest. He can feel his heart beating rapidly inside.

“Michael, why exactly _are_ you afraid of dogs?” Lailah asks with amusement.

“They’re just … It freaks me out how they can sense you but can’t even see you. Doesn’t that scare you as well?”

“Not at all,” she says joyfully. “I find dogs to be rather cute.”

“Well, that’s your opinion, I guess,” Michael mutters, shooting Lailah a glare when she lets out a laugh. He sighs, gesturing to the darkness of the corridor in front of them.

“Come on, we should move on. I can still feel malevolence, but it still feels faint, so maybe it is just a few hellions after all.”

“Hopefully so. And I hope even more so that they aren’t from the canine family,” Lailah responds cheerfully.

“All right, all right, I get it,” Michael says, yet he still has a smile of amusement on his face.

 

* * *

 

Luck is on their side when Michael’s suspicion of only a few hellions being inside here turns out to be correct. Though a few more battles lie ahead, they are able to find them off easily enough as they venture forward.

They arrive at a thicker corridor eventually, with a separate one opposite them. It seems as though the two possible paths ended up connecting after all. The hall they are now walking down has torches lining the walls. They are unlit, yet Lailah waves out her hand, causes her fire to spark in each of them.

“I see some doors down there,” says Lailah, pointing ahead. Michael’s eyes follow her finger. She’s completely right.

“I wonder what’s in there,” Michael says, his excitement returning and obvious in his voice. “I mean, what’s the point of adventuring at all if you don’t end up finding some sort of treasure?”

Lailah hums. “But I think the journey itself is important also. I enjoy that aspect with you.”

“Yeah, I enjoy the journey as well. I guess I just love the satisfaction of finding something at the end.”

His eyes take note of two torches stood on the floor either side of the doors. He knows instantly what to do. His hand waves in front of the left one, conjuring the Shepherd’s flames; once it is lit, he repeats this action to the second torch. A rumble ripples underneath their feet, both watching as the doors open.

“There!” Michael exclaims. He jogs inside the room before the doors have even opened fully. Lailah chuckles fondly, her heels clicking against the stone floor as she catches up to him. His eyes are scanning the room.

“This is incredible,” he says, his eyes taking in tall, extravagant pillars, as well as a statue of what appears to be a drake. The piece of art is crumbling and cracked, yet Michael’s hands run over it with such awe in his eyes, you’d expect it to be the most valuable piece on Earth.

“I thought that the treasure was the most important thing,” Lailah says, a hint of teasing to her voice. “Yet you haven’t even noticed the chests in the room.”

“I did,” he lies, his eyes glancing at the chests which are indeed lined against a wall. He brings his gaze back to the statue. “But this is incredible. It really is strange how much dragons were once worshipped … I remember I read about that for the first time when I was around seven.”

“That is also when you explored ruins for the first time, wasn’t it?” Lailah questions. Michael nods, still inspecting the old structure in front of him.

“Young, wasn’t I? My parents didn’t mind so much, Muse however … Goodness, even at five-years-old, she knew how to put her foot down with me.”

Lailah laughs, settling herself down on a low wall. “Some things never change.”

Michael smiles with amusement. He finally turns around, making his way over to the chests. Lailah straightens up to watch him. With a slight groan – the chests have grown stiff by now – he opens the first one.

“Just a fair bit of gald,” he says. Treasures are what interest him far more than money, though he places it into his pouch anyway, knowing it will come in use.

The second contains talismans which he hands to Lailah. She is excited over the new weapon, her fingers tracing over the paper. He watches her with a fond smile for a moment before he brings his attention to the third chest. Disappointment finds him when all that is inside is some paper.

“I guess I didn’t get that lucky this time,” Michael says, reaching inside for the paper regardless, for he is still curious. He lifts out the sheets, finding that they have been written on. His eyes widen as he reads the first few words. “Or maybe I have … Lailah! I think a Shepherd had been here!”

“Really?” she says, finally taking her eyes away from the papers in her hands. Michael nods, scooting over to her to show her his own paper.

“No doubt about it.”

“’ _My journey as one of the world’s Shepherds began when I was eighteen-years-old,’”_ Lailah reads aloud. _“’Yet because this journey takes me on so many detours, I want to write it all down, to remember everything. I don’t yet know why this place made me think of this idea, yet I know I will never be satisfied if I do not use it.’_ This sounds a lot like your book, doesn’t it?”

“The Celestial Record,” Michael confirms. He brings the paper back in front of him.

“I wonder what loose sheets are doing all the way out here.”

“Who knows? I’m curious though. I’d love to be able to read more.” Yet he is still excited over this simple, small extract. “I just took note of the words _‘one of’ …_ Seems like he came from an era where there were numerous Shepherds around. And the paper itself seems very much damaged, so this must have been from some time ago.”

Lailah’s eyes grow a little sad. “Sometimes I wish that it was the same now with how many Shepherds walk this earth. Perhaps then, you would live your life with less stress, and have someone to share your burdens.”

“I have you,” says Michael. He reaches over to her, his hand landing on top of hers. “And I’m glad I became a Shepherd. I promise you.”

She looks down at Michael’s hand, before her eyes close as she smiles. “I’m not sure if you say this to make me feel better. But thank you Michael, I appreciate it.”

“I wouldn’t say this at all if it wasn’t all true.” He gives Lailah’s hand a squeeze, before he is sits up a little straighter. “Oh, this Shepherd has reminded me; I still need to write down about this place …”

Lailah watches as Michael takes out his Celestial Record from his rucksack. As it does every time he holds it, his hand runs over the smooth surface fondly, before he opens it up. He begins to carefully write across its pages.

Both remain silent as he does so. Even Lailah, who isn’t the one writing, finds herself falling into a similar concentration. She does not wake up from this or choose to speak until Michael is done.

“I adore how attached you are to this book,” she says. Michael smiles, keeping the pages open in order to let the ink dry.

“Absolutely. Not only do I enjoy having some kind of record of our explorations and like looking back on it all, I always think about what it would be like to have someone else read this one day. Perhaps it may even be in the next Shepherd’s hands.”

“The next Shepherd,” Lailah murmurs to herself. Her heart sinks when she realises that having another Shepherd, unlike how it had been all those years ago, would most likely come around with Michael’s death.

Yet still pure and not yet tainted by the world, Michael’s smile remains innocent and full of life as he closes the Celestial Record. Carefully, as though the memories inside must be protected at all costs, even if they would still exist in his mind up until the end.


End file.
